Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Blvd., Newport
Building owner and tenant: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
General contractors: Bonfatti Consulting, Behan Bros. Inc.
Designer: Melissa Towle, interior designer
Cost: $7 million
[caption id="attachment_463051" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
STOCKED SHELVES: The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center’s food pantry increased in size and now takes the shape of a small supermarket.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_463052" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
HOT STOVE: The kitchen inside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center was expanded to help serve more hot meals and meet increased demand for food within the community.[/caption]
Use: The 13-month renovation to the MLK Center’s 78-year-old building was made possible by donors to the nonprofit’s Building Hope Campaign. Such upgrades included adding more than 3,000 square feet of space, doubling the food storage capacity, enlarging the building’s welcoming entry and lobby, updating and expanding its kitchen, and adding a new private community space, centralized and new administration offices, and a new preschool classroom.
[caption id="attachment_463053" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
BEFORE[/caption]
PHOTOS COURTESY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMMUNITY CENTER